Part Three: Six Guilty Pleasures

It might seem a little strange or shallow to post this on Thanksgiving Day, when others are writing lovely and profound pieces on gratitude. But when I thought about it, I realized that the fact that I’ve made peace with certain things about myself is indeed something to be thankful for, as is the fact that my husband and children accept and love me as I am. Happy Thanksgiving.

Name six guilty pleasures you once considered guilty but you now have either abandoned or made peace with:

1. I sleep with a stuffed animal at night. No, I don’t mean my husband, though I do sleep with him, too. I mean I sleep with a stuffed rabbit I got as an adult. And I make no apologies. I’m a very mature and responsible adult, and I’m not ashamed—it helps me sleep and gives me comfort and hurts no one. I didn’t have one as a child, so it fulfils a need I always had. My husband is fine with it. And if you’ve got a problem with it, well… you’ve got a problem.

2. As a child, I loved the smell of mothballs. I think it’s because my mama kept our quilts in a trunk with mothballs, pulling them out when the weather got cold. So I associate the smell of mothballs with comfort and warmth, and when I was small, I’d inhale deeply the mothball smell of the quilt as my mama pulled it up to my chin at night. But they are now known to be pretty serious carcinogens, so no more deep breathing of mothball fumes for me.

3. I am not thin and svelte. In fact, my ex-husband used to say that I was “hearty peasant stock,” meaning…not petite. (And he didn’t mean that as a compliment). I used to worry a little about this and feel guilty when I’d eat something I knew to be highly caloric. No more. I adore food, so when I do partake of a high-fat indulgence, I savor every bite. I just make sure I eat healthy otherwise and that I don’t indulge myself too often and that I buy things with elastic. Thank God for elastic.

4. Though we don’t have much money, I do occasionally buy books. For one thing, our local library seldom has the book I want to read. For another, I love owning a book, especially a new one. (See post below). I don’t buy many clothes or shoes or spend much on beauty (though I probably should)! So I don’t feel guilty buying books, especially those I know I’ll read again and again.

5. I indulge my love for yard art. I love whirligigs and windchimes and gnomes and pink flamingoes and ceramic frogs and…well, the list goes on and on. Yeah, I like stuff that some consider bad taste or tacky, but I don’t care. I could never stand to live in one of those communities with covenants that ban certain “distasteful” yard ornaments. Nobody’s going to take my gnomes from my home. No sirree.

6. My greatest pleasure ever is being a mother. It’s not a guilty pleasure, but I used to worry a bit about the fact that I wasn’t like the other mothers. At school functions, I’d feel so out of place, and I’d worry that I’d embarrass my children. I mean, it was pretty obvious that these mothers had never told their children that their food had been nibbled by a mischievous kitchen rat! (See post below). But my children love me as I am. And I love them as they are. A lot. So I’ve stopped comparing myself to other mothers. I yam what I yam, as Popeye always said.

And that’s not so bad.

And now, I hereby tag anyone who would like to be tagged for this meme. It really was a lot of fun to do, even if I did ramble. But no need to feel guilty about that!

You hit on a guilty pleasure I wish I had remembered when I did mine…I never “hit on” moth balls (though I like their smell)…for me, it was mimeograph ink. I LOVED the smell of the still wet handouts given out by my teacher. Great third six! And I liked the way you handled the meme. I’ll remember that for future times since sometimes I think tagging can be a bit presumptuous. Now tell me, would you have done this if I hadn’t specifically tagged you?

Country Dew: Thank you. I DO take great joy in the smallest pleasures. Lately, I have been particularly savoring Edy’s Peppermint Ice Cream. They only have it at Christmas, so I have a bowl every chance I get.🙂

And, no, I don’t suppose I would have done this meme if you hadn’t tagged me, but I’m glad you did. It was interesting how my answers took a more serious turn. I am trying to write more freely, so I let my writing take the direction it wanted to take. So I think this meme was a good exercise for me in many ways, maybe even therapeutic.

I liked how you did this meme, going into depth and thinking about your answers instead of just listing things. It was fun to read and told us more about you.

By the way, while I don’t sleep with a stuffed animal, I do have my favorite blanket that helps me sleep. I hold the satin lining between my fingers and rub it on my face. And oooh it helps me sleep better than any pill.

And I thought that your piece was BOTH well-written and sincere. I found it very moving and I readily felt, as I read it, the pure joy of that day as you were surrounded by all the sweet love of your family.